
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- The Space Coast's natural foliage frames the Space Shuttle Discovery and the reflection of the intense heat and light of its liftoff from Launch Pad 39A at 6:06:24 p.m. EDT June 2. On board Discovery are Mission Commander Charles J. Precourt; Pilot Dominic L. Gorie; and Mission Specialists Wendy B. Lawrence, Franklin R. Chang-Diaz, Janet Lynn Kavandi and Valery Victorovitch Ryumin. The nearly 10-day mission will feature the ninth and final Shuttle docking with the Russian space station Mir, the first Mir docking for the Space Shuttle orbiter Discovery, the first on-orbit test of the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS), and the first flight of the new Space Shuttle super lightweight external tank. Astronaut Andrew S. W. Thomas will be returning to Earth as an STS-91 crew member after living more than four months aboard Mir
Most NASA images are in the public domain and free to use. Credit NASA as the source. Check NASA's media usage guidelines for details. Images featuring identifiable individuals may require additional permissions.
NASA ID
KSC-98pc686
Date Created
June 2, 1998
Center
KSC
Media Type
image
Location
Kennedy Space Center, FL
Download this image in multiple resolutions. All NASA media are free for public use.
Medium
960px